Edmond Life and Leisure - December 12, 2024

From the Publisher

Chamber awarded 5-star accreditation

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has awarded the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce with 5-Star Accreditation for its sound policies, effective organizational procedures and positive impact on the community. This prestigious honor puts our chamber among the top 1% of chambers nationwide.

Accreditation is the only national program that recognizes chambers for their effective organizational procedures and community involvement. To receive Accreditation, a chamber must meet minimum standards in their operations and programs, including areas of governance, government affairs, and technology. This extensive self-review can take 6-9 months to complete. It is a way to know your membership dues are professionally managed.

“Receiving a 5-Star rating from the U.S. Chamber validates the progress we’ve made in the past five years and is a great display of the path we’re on,” said Sherry Jordan, President and CEO of the Edmond Chamber. “This is the third time we have received a 5-Star rating, and it is something we strive to maintain. The Accreditation process has been an excellent way to measure the work we are doing and continually strive to improve.”

Of the nearly 7,000 chambers of commerce in the United States, only 194 are accredited by the U.S. Chamber. The Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce is one of only 128 5-Star accredited chambers of commerce in the country and one of four in the state.

Accreditation is valid for a period of five years. In 2015, the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce received a 5-Star rating for the first time. Local chambers are rated Accredited, 3-Stars, 4-Stars or 5-Stars. State chambers are recognized as either Accredited State Chamber or Accredited State Chamber with Distinction. The final determination is made by the Accrediting Board, a committee of U.S. Chamber board members.

The Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce is the voice for business. It is a hundred-year-old, 900member organization working together to create a strong local economy and to promote the community. The Edmond Chamber provides networking opportunities and business contacts for its members and represents business interests to the government. For information about the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce, visit www.edmondchamber.com.

The first check I wrote when we started Edmond Life & Leisure was to the Edmond Chamber. I had been working with them for years at another newspaper and certainly understood that it was important for a new business to join the chamber. I was well involved with the chamber when our fearless leader at the time, Ken Moore, told the executive board that he wanted us to be a five-star accredited organization.

It is not an easy process and as I recall the documents for application were put into a book and it was about a foot thick. The staff put in many hours back then and I am sure it is just as laborious of a process now. Hopefully, modern technology has helped putting together the information

together. It is a big deal folks and we offer our congratulations to the entire staff and leadership of our Edmond Chamber.

If you are not a member of our Edmond Chamber, please join so your business can take advantage of all that they offer. There is networking, learning opportunities, sponsorships to promote your business and much more. Your business will be flying with eagles when they join the Edmond Chamber.

I cannot say enough about our leader Sherry Jordan as well. I was on the chamber executive board of directors when she was first hired to get our finances in order. The books were straight, but they needed her professionalism to bring them up to standards. She must have taken a liking to the place because she has risen through the ranks to become CEO of the place. I know she will retire someday but we are hoping it is a long way off!

Cox Employees give education awards

I love this time of year when Cox gives out grants up to $10,000 to local educators who are so incredibly deserving. The grants are funded by employees who donate a part of every hard-earned paycheck to help our local community. These same employees also determine how and where the money should be spent. It is an incredibly special program that they are very proud of and take immense pride in the fact that the foundation is 100% funded and guided by Cox employees.

As usual, Edmond has a grant winner!

Cox Communications announced its Oklahoma City employees will award $75,371 to 26 Oklahoma City area educators through its unique employee-funded Cox Charities Education Grant program. More than eighty-five applications were received through the Cox Charities website this year from School administrators, teachers, teaching assistants and media specialists (Pre-K through 12th grades) in Edmond, Oklahoma City, Piedmont, Moore, Norman, Midwest City, Choctaw, Yukon and other central Oklahoma schools. The education grants support technology and programs that promote and enhance students' academic success and educational experience.

After careful deliberation by an advisory panel of local Cox employees, the following schools will receive grant dollars:

L.W. Westfall Elementary

Townsend Elementary

Piedmont Middle School

Southridge Junior High

Pleasant Hill Elementary

Dove Science Academy Middle School South

Piedmont High School

Madison Elementary School

John Rex Charter School

Deer Creek Middle School

Midwest City Middle School

Alcott Middle School

Cleveland Bailey Elementary School

Parkview Elementary

Dove Science Academy Middle School

Midwest City Middle School

Central Elementary

Piedmont High School

Madison Elementary School

Piedmont High School

Centennial Elementary

Piedmont High School

Mount St Mary

Pleasant Hill Elementary

The other program that is terrific and a giant help is that Cox Communications further supports local schools, individuals, and families year-round through no-cost and low-cost programs aimed at ensuring access to the internet like Cox Communications’ own Connect2Compete for families with students, ConnectAssist, and StraightUp Internet.

“The employees of Cox Communications in Oklahoma City are proud to invest in our local schools and celebrate the hard-working teachers who are educating our city’s future workforce,” said Katy Boren, vice president and market leader for Cox in central Oklahoma. “It is our hope that these investments will, when combined with others, make a discernable impact benefiting students.”

The $75,371 in Cox Communications Education Grants to be awarded for the 2024-25 school year are in addition to $157,500 in Cox Charities Investment grants awarded to seventeen central Oklahoma nonprofits in August. Since 2006, Cox Charities has supported schools and nonprofits through employee-funded grants totaling more than $13 million. For more information about Cox Charities, visit www.coxcharities.org

Edmond is blessed to have so many great corporate citizens and Cox is one of them. If you pay much attention to the mainstream media or even television, corporations are made out to be horrible organizations that spread evil in the world. This is just not the case folks. There is so much in most communities that it would not get done without corporations.

I have promised myself to try and find a way to add all the savings to us as citizens because of corporate sponsorships. Heck, even the large retail chains get behind and support efforts to encourage shopping at small businesses.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory opens in Edmond OK, the best Christmas treat you can get is at Silver Leaf Gems. Stephanie and her family make these while chocolate covered cranberries that are to die for. However, they sell out so if you do not get any of those, your good news is that we now have a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory right here in Edmond located at 140 E 5th Street.

We visited one when we were in Branson over Thanksgiving weekend. Lisa has a real issue with finding great hot chocolate and we certainly found it there along with a ton of great stuff that we did not buy because we knew we could come back and get it locally.

You really need to make a visit if you have never been to one of these shops before. When I used to visit Durango, Colorado, I would make a point to stop in. Sure, I was there to see our daughter who was in school there but visiting the chocolate factory was the real highlight. Sorry Raegan!

(Ray Hibbard, publisher of Edmond Life & Leisure, may be reached at